Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2008-09: Willie Coetzee skated in 72 games for Red Deer as an 18-year-old in his first full season in the WHL. Coetzee scored 18 goals with 24 assists and had 42 PMs; he had a -9 plus/minus as the Rebels finished last in their division.

2009-10: Coetzee signed a three-year, entry-level contract with Detroit after playing well in the 2009 Traverse City Tournament and went back to Red Deer for his second year in the WHL. Without fellow Red Wings' prospect Landon Ferraro as his center, Coetzee was the Rebels' leading scorer with 29 goals and 52 assists and was +10 with 32 PMs. Coetzee scored one goal and was -3 in the Rebels' four-game playoff series with Saskatoon.

2010-11: Coetzee started the year with Grand Rapids, but worked himself out of the line-up (5 assists) after 25 games due to lack of production. He spent the rest of the season as a member of the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye, scoring 9 goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 36 games.

2011-12: Coetzee spent the entire season with Grand Rapids in his second pro season. After scoring goals in the first two games for the Griffins, he saw mostly lower line duty – scoring 11 goals with 11 assists in 61 games – and was minus-six with 25 penalty minutes. The Griffins missed the AHL playoffs; finishing fourth in the North Division.

2012-13: Coetzee appeared in one game with AHL champion Grand Rapids and was the leading scorer for the ECHL's Toledo Walleyes in his third pro season. He was -1 with no points or penalty minutes in his only game with the Griffins. Coetzee scored 28 goals with 40 assists and was +6 with 22 penalty minutes in 64 regular season games with Toledo. The Walleye finished second in the North Division and lost to first place Cincinnati in a first round series. Coetzee had 4 assists and was -4 with 2 penalty minutes in six playoff games.

Talent Analysis

A pure offensive player. Coetzee is highly skilled and has soft hands. He is an adept playmaker, and also possesses a good, hard shot. Has very respectable foot speed that translates into more offensive opportunities. His main issue is a lack of size, as Coetzee may not have the physical prowess to compete at the pro level.

Future

Though he had a stellar offensive stat line with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye, Coetzee could not crack the Griffins AHL lineup. He will look to establish himself with the Griffins in 2013-14.

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Photo: Calle Jarnkrok, playing in his first AHL season out of Sweden, joined a deep and talented pool of forwards developing with Detroit’s AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins (courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

It has been a gradual change, but most things associated with the Detroit Red Wings work that way. In a salary-cap constrained hockey landscape, Detroit can no longer simply outspend other franchises; Detroit knew this eight seasons ago and began to stockpile talent through the NHL Draft.

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Photo: Center Joakim Andersson was a steady presence for the Red Wings during the Stanley Cup Playoffs and has since rejoined Grand Rapids in the Calder Cup Finals (courtesy of Tony Ding/Icon SMI)

Playoff success may be the Detroit Red Wings' calling card, but this season it was not just the NHL club that experienced an extended postseason run. The Red Wings took the Chicago Blackhaws to seven games before bowing out in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and this may have been a blessing in disguise for Detroit. A number of players were able to be sent down to the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins, who are having the most notable playoff run in the organization; they are currently battling the Syracuse Crunch for the Calder Cup and hold a 2-0 series advantage after a pair of road victories to begin the series. Red Wings prospects also had significant success in the NCAA Tournament and the Mastercard Memorial Cup tournament.

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Photo: Toledo Walleye forward Willie Coetzee, shown here playing in a preseason game for the Detroit Red Wings, is trying to climb back up the ladder in that NHL team's organization (courtesy of Abelimages/Getty Images)

Willie Coetzee refuses to use this year’s earlier NHL lockout as an excuse for currently playing for the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye. There is a reason why the Detroit Red Wings decided to keep the 5'10”, 180-pound forward in the ECHL instead of letting him build off of his 2010 campaign (11 goals, 11 assists) with the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids, MI.

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Photo: The Detroit Red Wings have several minor league prospects who are likely to crack the NHL lineup out of training camp, including Slovakian winger Tomas Tatar. (courtesy of Jeanine Leech/Icon SMI)

The beginning of the 2012-13 AHL season was not kind to the Grand Rapids Griffins. On November 2nd they were 2-4-1-1 and languishing, lacking strong defensive play and goaltending. Enter Petr Mrazek, who ripped off six consecutive wins and seemed to right the ship for the Griffins. As of January 7th, Grand Rapids was 20-10-1-2 and atop the Midwest division.